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Glossary

Screen Recording and Video Glossary

Short, plain-English definitions of the terms you'll meet when making screen recordings, demos and tutorials.

A

aspect ratio (16:9, 9:16, 1:1)Aspect ratio is the width-to-height shape of a video: 16:9 landscape, 9:16 vertical for phones, 1:1 square…async videoAsync video is recorded video sent instead of a live meeting, so people can watch when it suits…

B

background blur (webcam)Background blur softens what's behind you on camera, using segmentation to separate you from the…bitrateBitrate is how much data per second a video uses. Higher bitrate means sharper text and smoother motion in…a browser mockup (frame)A browser mockup is a frame that looks like a browser window, placed around a screenshot or recording to make…

C

closed captions vs open captionsClosed captions can be turned on and off by the viewer; open (burned-in) captions are part of the video…crash recovery (recordings)Crash recovery saves a recording continuously so it can be rebuilt if the browser or computer…

F

frame rate (fps)Frame rate is how many images per second a video shows. 30 fps is standard; 60 fps makes scrolling and…

G

a GIFA GIF is an image format that can loop short animations. Great for 5–10 second UI demos in docs and READMEs;…

H

H.264 (MP4)H.264 is the most widely supported video codec, used in MP4 files. It plays on virtually every device and…

I

an interactive demoAn interactive demo lets viewers click through a product flow themselves, made from captured screens.…

J

a jump cutA jump cut removes a section of continuous footage so the video jumps forward in time. Common for removing…

K

the Ken Burns effectThe Ken Burns effect slowly zooms and pans across a still image to create motion. Used to turn screenshots…

L

loudness normalisationLoudness normalisation adjusts audio so it plays at a consistent perceived volume, typically −14 LUFS for…LUFS (loudness units)LUFS measures perceived loudness. Platforms like YouTube and Spotify normalise to about −14 LUFS; matching it…

P

picture-in-picture (camera bubble)Picture-in-picture shows a small video, usually your webcam, on top of the main video, like a camera bubble…pixelationPixelation replaces an area of an image with large blocks of colour so the detail can't be read. Used to hide…a product demo videoA product demo video shows a product in use, focusing on the moment it solves a problem. Typically 1–3…

R

redaction (in video)Redaction hides sensitive information such as passwords, emails or faces in a video by blurring, pixelating…

S

screen recordingScreen recording is capturing a video of your screen, a window or a browser tab, often with audio and a…a screencastA screencast is a video recording of a computer screen, usually with narration, used for tutorials, demos and…Smart EditSmart Edit is Zoomr's one-click editing: it zooms in on clicks and typing, cuts dead time and speeds up…an SOP (standard operating procedure)An SOP is a written, step-by-step description of how to perform a routine task consistently, often with…an SRT fileAn SRT file is a plain-text subtitle file with numbered captions and timings. YouTube and most players accept…a step-by-step guideA step-by-step guide lists the exact actions to complete a task, usually with a screenshot for each…

T

tab captureTab capture records one Chrome tab, its picture and its sound, without the rest of the screen. It's how…

V

a voice-overA voice-over is narration recorded over video. In screen recordings it explains what's happening on…

W

a walkthrough videoA walkthrough video guides viewers through a product, feature or process step by step, start to…WebMWebM is an open video format (usually VP9 or VP8 video with Opus audio) that browsers record and play…Whisper (speech recognition)Whisper is an open speech-recognition model from OpenAI. Zoomr runs it on your computer to create captions…

Z

zoom and panZoom and pan magnifies part of a video and moves the view across it, so viewers can follow small details in…